Navigation Menu: Social Icons

A Dietitian {to be} who loves her treats

I often get questions or faces of confusion when people find out I include all types of food into my diet. This generally leads to a cascade of thoughts that flood my head but more recently I have found myself asking what’s wrong with enjoying a scoop of ice cream, a donut or a few French fries because I’m studying nutrition? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! I’m human too and enjoy my favorite foods just like you.

Being a big believer of #allfoodsfit I really dislike telling people exactly what to eat. I’ll touch on this later on but one thing that really grinds my gears is when people either ask for a meal plan or make a comment about how I must watch what I eat {insert all the eye rolls here}.

Let’s get a few things straight here before we move forward:

Dietitians are not the food police that we are often made out to be. Honestly, I don’t want you judging my food so why am I going to judge yours?

I want to help individuals create healthy habits that work for THEM. If that includes eating a donut or a slice of pizza than I’m all for it. It’s all about finding balance within those healthy habits.

Just because I allow all foods to fit into my diet doesn’t mean I don’t care about my health. Health is multifactorial and nutrition is a small component of it. It is often times forgotten that the benefits of food go beyond the food label.

Choosing what we eat on a daily basis is a decision that shouldn’t be taken away from us. Having the ability to choose foods we want gives us the empowerment to honor our cravings, select foods that provide satisfaction and be in control of the decisions we make. When we rely on external factors in making decisions we are disconnecting ourselves from our internal sense.

One of my favorite ice cream shops is a family owned homemade shop in Columbia, Mo called Sparky’s! You can always expect their line to be out the door during the summer time.

Think back to when you were a baby. You cried often, ate numerous times during the day and did whatever you wanted without thinking twice about it. Where did that go? Well I think we can blame diet culture for a lot of it. We are reminded on the daily what we should eat, how much we should eat, when to eat, how to look and the list goes on. What diet culture fails to include is that YOU are the expert of YOUR body. Not some fad diet that a celebrity or company is promoting.

This brings me to my comment I mentioned earlier regarding how I dislike telling people what to eat. While I don’t mind giving general recommendations, like include more fruits and vegetables, I do not know what your body is craving or needs at every given second. Only you can know that. By listening to someone else tell you exactly what to eat you are not allowing yourself to truly listen to what your body needs. It disconnects you from our innate cues we had as babies. I also feel that by telling people what to eat it paints a picture that some foods are “good” and some are “bad’. You can’t categorize foods as “good” or “bad” because 1. they are all made up of carbohydrates, proteins and fats 2. even too much of a “good” food can be a bad thing (i.e. toxicity of a specific micronutrient) and 3. every food serves a purpose! Therefore, if you were to ever ask this future RDN for a meal plan or what to eat I will simply give the response: “Whatever your body needs.” 🙂

Celebrate food freedom and all that food has to offer. Also, wishing I could visit this bakery shop called Milkfloat in my hometown more often because their homemade pop tarts are too die for. And everything else!

“The desire for sweets is natural, normal and quite pleasant! Any diet that tells you you can’t have sweets is going against your natural desire.” – page 51 of Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole

It can be easy to convince ourselves that trying a new diet or choosing one food over another is a good decision in the moment but just because it feels right at that moment doesn’t mean it is good for you. It is important to be honest with yourself about the intentions behind your decisions. Are you choosing that salad over a cookie because the salad truly sounds delicious to you or because “diet culture” is telling you the salad is a better choice then the cookie. INTENTIONS ARE EVERYTHING.

By allowing yourself to place no restrictions on food you are able to enjoy foods that truly sound good in that moment. This can reduce cravings for foods you once placed off limits and lead to more satisfaction in the foods you do choose to consume. When you aren’t being dominated by food, weight or body thoughts you are able to find freedom and peace with the decisions you do make.

I love roasted veggies just as much as my sweets! Finding a balance within healthy habits is so beneficial to our overall health!

So I challenge you to do two things.

Don’t judge people for what they eat. Just because you see me eating a donut doesn’t mean I don’t eat my fruits and veggies. You can’t paint a big picture based on 1 meal alone. Looking at someones plate doesn’t tell you how they felt about the meal or their level of satisfaction. Judging people also adds shame and guilt to the picture which can lead to disordered eating patterns and negative body image thoughts.

Dive into why you choose the foods you do. Is it because it truly sounds satisfying to you or because “diet culture” told you it’s the better choice? If it’s the latter, try to include 1 new food into your day because you really wanted it. See how it makes you feel and enjoy the freedom you find in it!

If you gave either one of these a try, let me know how it went! What were your thoughts during it? What was the outcome? Did it change your perspective on anything?

Reader Interactions

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Comment

Name *

Email *

Website

Recipe Rating

Primary Sidebar

Welcome!

Hi there! I’m Ashlyn, BS + RD2B. I am a firm believer that ALL foods have a place and purpose in your diet and that it plays a big role in physical and mental health. My hope is to help inspire you in discovering the nourishment that food can provide and the empowerment in letting go of food rules. My experiences with creating a positive relationship with food and establishing body acceptance is something that has impacted my life greatly. My hope is that it can do the same for you. My “why” is to help you redefine what “healthy” means to YOU.

Instagram

Subscribe for post updates!

E-Mail Address

Search

Footer

Come and Say Hello to Me on Instagram!

About Me

An RD2B who loves all thing food, especially delicious dessert and roasted veggies {it's called balance after all, right?!} I love to spend my days in the kitchen baking, at the CrossFit gym, taking food photography pictures or quality time with friends! Most of all, I am happy your here on my page and taking part in the journey in redefining what "healthy" means to YOU! Read More…